After much discussion about the potential difficulty in pairing a navy tie with a navy jacket, and after much discouragement of said pairing, we now ask you to go out of your way to wear said pairing. Shout out to Rudals for inspiring this idea.

The challenge is, don't f*ck it up.

Requirements:

Navy suit or SC

Blue tie (Can be navy or light blue, but navy is more challenging. I give 2 votes extra credit for anyone wearing a navy tie)

While waiting for the passport pics, a quick full length selfie in the photo place:

Police criminal record check, done, forms collected, quick chat with the new boss, contract signed with HR...in a three piece, bow tie, spectators and argyll socks just for the hell of it. Yep, had to get some blue in the socks and the shoes to enter into the proper spirit of the Challenge.

Notes:
A couple quick comments. Everything here, with the exception of the shirt, I’ve had for a few years. But this is what I wore to work yesterday, which is when I took the pictures. Suit, tie, and pinstripes on the shirt are all navy. Socks are predominantly a sort of blueish-grey.

My wardrobe’s small by SF standards, so I didn’t have a lot to draw from for a monochrome challenge. I’m aware of the danger of having stripes in both tie and shirt, but hope that the slightly different scale, the different directions, and perhaps most importantly the different textures might make it acceptable here. Opinions are actively solicited, of course. Given the lack of colour variation, getting a variety of textures was the best I thought I could do, hence my choice of this particular tie (I’ve at least a half dozen navy ties of various sort, but this is the only grenadine). The suit itself is of heavy winter weight wool (probably around 12 oz.) with a softer finish (so there’s a bit of a nap to it).

Lastly, special and sincere thanks to InStiches who, as some of you may not be aware, has been kind enough to take the time to read other threads on the forum and invite people to participate in this one. I was inspired by the Friday challenge, but would have chickened out were it not for him. That’s very generous, and I’m sure I’m not the only forumite to appreciate it.

Why boring shirt? No ginghams or oddities? Any colour restrictions on the shirt? Should I assume conservative means white, blue or micro stripe?

I will also be wearing linen. Because it's always warm. And because my other new navy suit isn't finished yet. Nor is my new navy blazer. And because I have special awesomes in mind. I am in. Very much in. And I will wear it tomorrow. And I will be expecting votes. Which, frankly, is a first for me in a Friday Challenge. Here we go...

Quote:

Originally Posted by in stitches

because i said so.

no color restrictions on the shirt, but dont go buck wild and expect it to be good.

looking forward to your awesomeness.

Now then.

I need to get this clear, because that "don't go wild" bit sounds an awful lot like a discarded gauntlet to me. Are you saying that we should wear conservative shirts because you think that will be better? Or are you saying that we should wear conservative shirts because you want to make it harder? And then, if we do go "buck wild" and wear a more interesting shirt AND it's brilliant, do we get extra Stitchenpunkt for that? Or a deduction for not being conservative?

Not trying to be difficult here, it's just I have to wear mine tomorrow because I'm off Friday and Saturday. So I want to be clear, and especially as I'm probably throwing first which is always a disadvantage. Oh, and one small detail: whatever I'm wearing tomorrow, I'm wearing to go sign a contract for two years with a new employer. And I have to be photographed on the way for all the relevant documents. So this is high stakes for mimo.

Be clear: conservative is a rule, an additional challenge, a safety net? And what are the point implications?

Mimo - i am saying that a more conservative shirt is required. And btw, I think that a wild shirt would be more difficult to do here. But I am a reasonable man. Please just post a picture of the shirt you're talking about so I can better answer you.

Either way, best of luck tomorrow!!!!

Rudals - I am sorry buddy but I do not love that so much. The tie seems to be a bit too bright and overly saturated for the rest of what's going on. Ymmv.

B - there is no restriction as to the pattern on the tie. It can be solid, neat, stripe, whatever you like. As long as the ground is navy and the tie comes off as navy (generally this required the navy ground to be more than 50% of the tie).

I will say though, that I do not think that a solid navy is the best choice for this challenge. Generally speaking it will either make the fit seems drab and lack any real visual interest or it will stand out like a sore thumb. Just my opinion though.

Well then, the rule is that the shirt should lean to the conservative side. Post at your own risk and discretion. Its unlikely I would invalidate an entry for a shirt. Its more about the tie and jacket.